EP4074227B1

EP4074227B1 - Beverage machine

Info

Publication number: EP4074227B1
Application number: EP21168446.9A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Samo Lemez; Peter Leskovsek; Matej Mejac; Ales Semprimoznik; Sebastijan Vehovar; Branko Zavolovsek
Original assignee: BSH Hausgeraete GmbH
Current assignee: BSH Hausgeraete GmbH
Priority date: 2021-04-14
Filing date: 2021-04-14
Publication date: 2023-10-11
Anticipated expiration: 2041-04-14
Also published as: EP4074227A1

Description

The present invention relates to a beverage machine, in particular a coffee machine, with a height-adjustable beverage outlet unit, such as a fully automatic coffee machine, with a housing and with the beverage outlet unit which is arranged in a front wall of the housing, and the height-adjustable beverage outlet unit is vertically adjustable.
Beverage preparing machines can be used for different applications. A preferred use of a beverage preparing machine is as an automatic coffee maker. Such beverage preparing machines usually have a beverage outlet which is vertically adjustable by an actuator and adapted to dispense a beverage into at least one receptacle. Beverage preparing machines that allow the beverage outlet to be adjusted in height, either manually or by the actuator. In most cases, an electric motor is used as the actuator, but other actuators may also be used, such as electromagnetic or hydraulic actuators. The beverage outlet is moved by the actuator or manually toward the receptacle to a point where appropriate splash protection is provided. That point is generally the case when the beverage outlet is located closely above the receptacle or rests on the edge of the it. In this position, dispensing nozzles of the beverage outlet openings are directed into the receptacle, which has the advantage that no splashing can occur during the dispensing of the beverage, especially when making coffee with frothed milk, for instance a cappuccino.
Document EP3053493A1 discloses a beverage preparation device, in particular a coffee machine, with a housing and with a beverage outlet unit that is height-adjustable along a vertical axis and is arranged in front of a front wall of the housing extending opening is arranged, through which at least one beverage supply line extends, with which the beverage outlet unit is connected in a fluid-conducting manner with beverage preparation means and wherein cover means are connected to the beverage outlet unit in such a way that they are connected by manual or automatic means Adjustment of the beverage outlet unit can be moved together with it and cover a section of the opening not covered by the beverage outlet unit and the cover means are assigned deflection means with which the cover means relative to the vertical axis inside the housing can be deflected, the covering means comprising at least one multi-link plate chain which comprise a plurality of preferably identical plate links which are articulated to one another.
Document EP1 199016A1 discloses a coffee machine having a housing, at least one height-adjustable outlet for a beverage product and a height-adjustable front panel, and the front panel comprises operating elements, a guide recess for the adjustable outlet and a limit stop for the height-adjustability of the outlet and the outlet is height-adjustable independently of the front panel and the front panel is manually movable via a slide guide. Additionally, the front panel is height-adjustable against the action of a weight-balancing device.
Document EP2548482A1 discloses a be machine has a rotatable guiding element designed as a threaded rod, formed at the machine and guided to a vertically adjustable beverage outlet over a socket element. An annular driver is arranged on the socket element and pre-tensioned against the guiding element that is provided with a screw thread, where the guiding element is manually rotated by a rotating movement or a rectilinear movement. The guiding element is electromotive-rotated by an electromotor that is blocked in an interior region of the guiding element. The driver includes two axial legs. This solution, because of its structure does not allow manually movement of coffee outlet by user.
Document EP2740391A1 discloses a beverage machine having a discharge unit that has two parallel guide rails that are fixed on a base frame. A carriage is arranged and guided on guide sleeves to slide on the two guide rails. A fixing element is provided to automatically lock the carriage at an arbitrary position along the guide rails. The discharge unit is designed as a preassembled module. An electrical drive device is provided to electrically adjust the carriage along the guide rails.
Presented solutions are complicated in practice, comprises many components, to be mounted together, what causes that assembling the machine is complicated and the production is expensive. Moreover, this increases time required for the assembling and increases risk for incorrect assembling. Furtherly, known solutions, that have a driven by an electric motor a height adjustment coffee outlet mechanism, don't allow manual height adjustment of coffee outlet by user.
It is the object of the present invention to overcome problems associated with known solutions and provide reliable and robust solution for height adjustment mechanism of the beverage discharge unit, that is prevented from damage when the beverage discharge unit is accidently blocked. It is a still further object of the invention is provide to a user the device that has improved protection against hot water or steam, produced inside the device.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a beverage machine, in particular a coffee machine, with a housing and with a beverage discharge unit which is arranged in front of a housing front wall and which is height-adjustable along a vertical axis by a height adjustment mechanism. In the housing front wall an extending along the vertical axis opening is arranged. Through the said opening extends at least one beverage supply line, with which the beverage discharge unit with a beverage preparation means is connected in a fluid-conducting manner. The beverage discharge unit is equipped with a discharge unit head. They are connected together in such a way that they can be adjusted by adjusting the beverage discharge unit or the discharge unit head and can be moved together with a covering means, that covers portion of the opening not covered by the beverage discharge unit and the discharge unit head that are connected to it. The height adjustment mechanism comprises an electric motor that rotates a threaded lifting screw extending through and engaged with a lifting nut, and in that the lifting nut is formed by halves of the lifting nut that are resiliently fixed each other around the lifting screw by a compression mean. So, present invention provide solution of the height adjustment mechanism that is protected from overloading caused by blocking the beverage discharge unit or the beverage unit head. The said protection is achieved by the detachable engagement of the lifting screw and the lifting nut, namely when the forces acting between the lifting screw and the lifting nut exceed predetermined value, halves of the lifting nut are opening apart, what causes that they stop being coupled, and the lifting screw can be rotated, but they still stay together because of the compression mean acting. So, the height adjustment mechanism and the electric engine that rotates the lifting screw is therefore protected.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention the height adjustment mechanism has a mounting brace substantially in the shape of letter "C", that is fixed to the housing front wall, and between arms of the mounting brace, the lifting screw with the lifting nut extends, wherein the lifting nut is firmly connected to the beverage discharge unit, and the electric motor is connected to the mounting brace and/or to the housing front wall. Therefore movement of the beverage discharge unit in relation to the housing front part is provided. The positive effect is that tightness of the connection is guaranteed. The solution is cheap in the production and convenient during assembling.
In the another preferred embodiment of the invention the height adjustment mechanism has a mounting brace that is fixed to the beverage discharge unit, and supports the lifting screw with the lifting nut and the electric motor, wherein the lifting nut is firmly connected to the housing front wall. So, this provides another variant of the height adjustment mechanism of the beverage discharge unit that can be moved in relation to the housing front part, that can be implemented in the beverage machine.
Preferable the lifting nut is provided with a nut thread disposed in engagement, with formation of non-self-locking thread with a lifting screw thread of the lifting screw, which is lockable from gravitational force caused by weight of the beverage discharge unit connected together with the discharge unit head. The positive aspect of this is in that non-self-locking thread that engages the lifting screw and the lifting nut causes that the beverage discharge unit with the beverage discharge head can be moved manually by a user.
In the another preferred embodiment of the invention halves of the lifting nut are connected by a hinge that is disposed in the longitudinal direction on one of ends of the said halves, and the said halves are compressed by the compression mean as a compression wire spring. The positive effect of this is in that the hinge and the wire spring provide stable engagement and keep the said halves together even if they partially opened apart. So, that solution is easy to implement and cost effective in production and provides.
Preferably the lifting screw is rotated by the electric engine directly or indirectly by the toothed gear. The positive effect of this is in that the direct the lifting screw drive is cheap, because it does not require additional parts. While, indirect the lifting screw drive, for instance by toothed gear, gives more option to arrange driving of the lifting screw.
In the another preferred embodiment of the invention the covering mean is formed by a series of slats arranged in vertical order and connected each other with longer sides by a slat hinge. Preferable the slat hinge is formed as integrated hinge or life hinge, and the slat hinge covers connection line that is between the slats. Therefore, there is no slots between slats, so a user is better protected against the hot water or steam produced inside the device.
Preferable the housing front wall is provided with two slat rails, each of them provided with a groove formed substantially in the shape of inverted letter "L", that are disposed on the inner side of the housing front wall, wherein the said slat rails extend partially vertically along both side the opening and partially extending substantially horizontally inwardly of the housing. The positive effect of this is in that the invention provides durable solution for supporting the covering mean, furtherly increases stiffness of the front wall.
In the another preferred embodiment of the invention the housing front wall is formed as a module that comprises at least the front frame, an intermediate part, the beverage discharge unit, the discharge head, and a front panel, wherein the beverage discharge unit is movable assembled to the front frame by two guide columns that are fixed to the front frame. Furtherly the discharge head is connected to the beverage discharge unit by a fixing rib disposed on the discharge head and by two screws is screwed through opening of the beverage discharge unit, and the intermediate part and the front frame are connected together by two fixing hitches, two protrusions placed on the front frame and corresponding two openings and a holder placed on the intermediate part, and in that a front panel is connected to the front frame by two pins that are disposed on the upper portion of the front frame and correspondent two openings in the upper portion of the front panel and two screws that fix lower portion of the front panel with lower portion of the front frame. The positive effect of the invention that the front wall is mounted as a module, what is convenient for assembling and reduces possibilities to make mistakes by employees, after assembling this module is connected to the housing of the device.
Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.
In the drawings:

Fig. 1: shows a front wall of the coffee machine.
Fig. 2: shows a covering means.
Fig. 3: shows a height adjustment mechanism.
Fig. 4: shows the enlarged area "A" from fig.3.
Fig. 5: shows an another variant of the height adjustment mechanism.
Fig. 6: shows an another variant of the height adjustment mechanism.
Fig. 7: shows a front wall in a front view.
Fig. 8: shows rear side of a front wall.
Fig. 9: shows a cross-section through a front wall.

In cooperation with attached drawings, the technical contents and detailed description of the present invention are described thereinafter according to a preferable embodiment, being not used to limit its executing scope.
In the following description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, similar identical reference numbers designate identical or comparable components.
Typically, coffee machines employ different systems for preparing beverages such as coffee, tea or chocolate. Coffee machine usually comprises a housing with a tank, a coffee grinder, a brewing unit, a frothing unit, a drip tray, a beverage outlet that is placed on the front wall for ease of use. During the brewing process a portion of hot water passes through the coffee powder in order to prepare a coffee. For preparing cappuccino, the automated machine is provided with a steam conduit where a stream of the steam draws air into the pipe to mix it with steam and to froth a quantity of milk when the resulting mixture is admitted into a milk. The machine provides a certain pressure, water flow amount, time duration and temperature. So, such devices are complicated in assembling and expensive to produce. The housing provides to a user protection against the hot water or steam that is produced inside. Also the housing has a beverage outlet that advantageously can be adjustable for the purpose of setting close distance between a dispenser and the beverage outlet unit to avoid splashing prepared drink. It's desirable that adjusting is maintained by an electric motor, but manual correction of the beverage outlet unit position is an additional advantage. Therefore it is important to provide durable, reliable and cheap solution that can realize aforementioned requirements in the device.
Fig.1 shows a front wall 16 of the coffee machine. The coffee machine, has a housing with a front wall 16 and a beverage discharge unit 30 which is arranged in the housing front wall 16 and which is height-adjustable along a vertical axis V by a height adjustment mechanism 18 (not shown on this figure). The housing front wall 16 is formed by a front frame 20 and an intermediate part 22, they are fixed together by two fixing hitches 21 that are disposed on an upper portion of the front frame 20, and two protrusion 23 that are disposed on the front frame 20 and two openings in the intermediate part 22. In the housing front wall 16, an opening 17 is arranged, that extends along the vertical axis V. Throughout the opening 17 extends at least one beverage supply line, with which the beverage discharge unit 30 is connected in a fluid-conducting manner with a beverage preparation means (not shown on this figure). A discharge unit head 24 (not shown on this figure) is connected to the beverage discharge unit 30 in such a way that they can be adjusted by adjusting the beverage discharge unit 30 or the discharge unit head 24 and can be moved together with a covering means 3 of the opening 17, that covers portion of the opening 17 not covered by the beverage discharge unit 30 and the discharge unit head 24 that is connected to it. The front frame 20 is provided with two slat rails 2, each of them provided with a groove 1. The said rails 2 are formed substantially in the shape of inverted letter "L", that are disposed on the inner side of the housing front wall 16, and the said slat rails 2 extend partially vertically along both side the opening 17 and partially extending substantially horizontally inwardly of the housing.
Fig.2 shows a covering means 3 according to the invention. The covering mean 3 is formed by a series of slats 4 arranged in vertical order. Between each of the slats 4 a connection line 32 is formed. The said slats 4 are connected each other with longer sides by a slat hinge 5 as a life hinge. The slat hinge 5 totally covers connection line 32.
Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 show a height adjustment mechanism that is placed in a beverage machine according to the present invention. The coffee machine, has a housing with a front wall 16 and a beverage discharge unit 30 which is arranged in the housing front wall 16 and which is height-adjustable along a vertical axis V by a height adjustment mechanism 18. The front wall 16 is formed by fixed together the front frame 20 and the intermediate portion 22. The opening 17 is arranged in the housing front wall 16, that extends along the vertical axis V. Throughout the opening 17 extends at least one beverage supply line, with which the beverage discharge unit 30 is connected in a fluid-conducting manner with a beverage preparation means (not shown on this figure). The beverage discharge unit 30 is movable fixed to the front frame 20 by two guide columns 11. The height adjustment mechanism 18 has a mounting brace 7 substantially in the shape of letter "C", that is fixed to the housing front frame 20, that forms the front wall 16. Between arms of the mounting brace 7, the lifting screw 9 with engaged the lifting nut 12 extends. The lifting screw 9 is rotated directly by an electric motor 6. The lifting nut 12 is formed by halves 34 of the lifting nut 12 that are resiliently fixed each other around the lifting screw 9 by a compression mean 13, as a wire spring. The lifting nut 12 is firmly connected to the beverage discharge unit 30 by a fixing potion 10, that extends from one of the halves 34. The lifting nut 12 is provided with a nut thread disposed in engagement, with formation of non-self-locking thread 31, with a lifting screw thread 8 of the lifting screw 9, which is lockable from gravitational force caused by weight of the beverage discharge unit 30. The halves 34 of the lifting nut 12 are connected by a hinge 19 as a life hinge, that is disposed in the longitudinal direction on one of ends of the said halves 34.
Fig. 5 shows another variant of the height adjustment mechanism. The coffee machine, has a housing with a front wall 16 and a beverage discharge unit 30 which is arranged in the housing front wall 16 and which is height-adjustable along a vertical axis V by a height adjustment mechanism 18. The front wall 16 is formed by fixed together the front frame 20 and the intermediate portion 22. The opening 17 is arranged in the housing front wall 16, that extends along its the vertical axis V. Throughout the opening 17 extends at least one beverage supply line, with which the beverage discharge unit 30 is connected in a fluid-conducting manner with a beverage preparation means (not shown on this figure). The beverage discharge unit 30 is movable fixed to the front frame 20 by two guide columns 11. The height adjustment mechanism 18 has a casing 15. The lifting screw 9 (not shown on this figure) is rotated by an electric motor 6 by a toothed gear 14, that is supported by the casing 15. The casing 15 is fixed to the beverage discharge unit 30, and supports the lifting screw 9 with the lifting nut 12 (not shown on this figure) and the electric motor 6, the lifting nut 12 is firmly connected to the housing front wall 16.
Fig. 6 shows one more variant of the height adjustment mechanism. The coffee machine, has a housing with a front wall 16 and a beverage discharge unit 30 which is arranged in the housing front wall 16 which is height-adjustable along a vertical axis V by a height adjustment mechanism 18. The front wall 16 is formed by fixed together the front frame 20 and the intermediate portion 22 (not shown on this figure). The opening 17 is arranged in the housing front wall 16, and extends along its vertical axis. Throughout the opening 17 extends at least one beverage supply line, with which the beverage discharge unit 30 is connected in a fluid-conducting manner with a beverage preparation means (not shown on this figure). The beverage discharge unit 30 is movable fixed relative to the front frame 20 by two guide columns 11. The height adjustment mechanism 18 has a casing 15. The lifting screw 9 (not shown on this figure) is rotated directly by an electric motor 6. The casing 15 is connected to the beverage discharge unit 30, and supports the lifting screw 9 (not shown on this figure) with the lifting nut 12 (not shown on this figure) and the electric motor 6. The lifting nut 12 is firmly connected to the housing front wall 16.
Fig. 7 shows a front wall in a front view. The coffee machine, has a housing with a front wall 16 and a beverage discharge unit 30 which is arranged in the housing front wall 16 and which is height-adjustable along a vertical axis V by a height adjustment mechanism 18 (not shown on this figure). The housing front wall 16 is formed by a front frame 20 and an intermediate part 22, they are fixed together by two fixing hitches 21 that are disposed on an upper portion of the front frame 20, and two protrusion 23 that are disposed on the front frame 20 and two openings in the intermediate part 22. In the housing front wall 16, an opening 17 is arranged, that extends along the vertical axis V. Throughout the opening 17 extends at least one beverage supply line, with which the beverage discharge unit 30 is connected in a fluid-conducting manner with a beverage preparation means (not shown on this figure). A discharge unit head 24 is connected to the beverage discharge unit 30 in such a way that they can be adjusted by adjusting the beverage discharge unit 30 or the discharge unit head 24 and can be moved together with a covering means 3 of the opening 17, that covers portion of the opening 17 not covered by the beverage discharge unit 30 and the discharge unit head 24 that is connected to it. The covering mean 3 is formed by a series of slats 4 arranged in vertical order. Between each of the slats 4 a connection line 32 is formed. The said slats 4 are connected each other with longer sides by a slat hinge 5 as a life hinge. The slat hinge 5 totally covers connection line 32. The upper horizontal portion of the front frame 20 has two pins 26 for mounting a front panel 25 (not shown on this figure).
Fig. 8 shows rear side of a front wall. The coffee machine, has a housing with a front wall 16 and a beverage discharge unit 30 which is arranged in the housing front wall 16 and which is height-adjustable along a vertical axis V, by a height adjustment mechanism 18 (not shown on this figure). The housing front wall 16 is formed by a front frame 20 and an intermediate part 22, they are fixed each other. The beverage discharge unit 30 is movable connected to front frame 20 by two guide columns 11. In the housing front wall 16, an opening 17 is arranged, that extends along the vertical axis V. Throughout the opening 17 extends at least one beverage supply line, with which the beverage discharge unit 30 is connected in a fluid-conducting manner with a beverage preparation means (not shown on this figure). The upper horizontal portion of the front frame 20 has two pins 26 for mounting a front panel 25 and two screws 33 that fix lower portion of the front panel 25 with lower portion of the front frame 20.
Fig. 9 shows a cross-section through a front wall 16. The front wall 16 is formed as a module that comprises at least the front frame 20, an intermediate part 22, the beverage discharge unit 30, the discharge head 24, and a front panel 25. The beverage discharge unit 30 is movable connected to the front frame 20 by two guide columns 11. The said guide columns 11 are fixed to the front frame 20. The discharge head 24 is connected to the beverage discharge unit 30, by a fixing rib 28 disposed on the discharge head 24 and by two screws 27. The screws 27 are screwed through openings against the beverage discharge unit 30. The intermediate part 22 and the front frame 20 are connected together by two fixing hitches 21 and two protrusions 23. The said protrusions 23 are placed on the front frame 20 and corresponding two openings, and a holder 29, of the intermediate part 22. The front panel 25 is connected to the front frame 20 by two pins 26 that are disposed on the upper portion of the front frame 20 and corresponding two openings in the upper portion of the front panel 25 and two screws 33, that fix a lower portion of the front panel 25 with a lower portion of the front frame 20.
Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment(s) as mentioned above, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention, which is defined by the claims.

List of the reference signs

1: groove
2: slat rail
3: covering means
4: slat
5: hinge
6: electric motor
7: mounting brace
8: thread
9: lifting screw
10: fixing portion
11: guide column
12: lifting nut
13: compression mean
14: gear
15: casing
16: front wall
17: opening
18: height adjustment mechanism
19: hinge
20: front frame
21: fixing hitch
22: intermediate part
23: protrusion
24: discharge unit head
25: front panel
26: pin
27: screw
28: fixing rib
29: holder
30: beverage discharge unit
31: non-self-locking thread
32: connection line
33: screw
34: halves of the lifting nut

Claims

Beverage machine, in particular a coffee machine, with a housing and with a beverage discharge unit (30) which is arranged in front of a housing front wall (16) and which is height-adjustable along a vertical axis (V) by a height adjustment mechanism (18), wherein in the housing front wall (16) an opening (17) extending along the vertical axis (V) is arranged, through which extends at least one beverage supply line, with which the beverage discharge unit (30) is connected in a fluid-conducting manner with a beverage preparation means and wherein a discharge unit head (24) is connected to the beverage discharge unit (30) in such a way that they can be adjusted by adjusting the beverage discharge unit (30) or the discharge unit head (24) and can be moved together with a covering means (3) of the opening (17), that covers a portion of the opening (17) not covered by the beverage discharge unit (30) and the discharge unit head (24) that is connected to it, characterized in that the height adjustment mechanism (18) comprises an electric motor (6) that rotates a threaded lifting screw (9) extending through and engaged with a lifting nut (12), and in that the lifting nut (12) is formed by halves (34) of the lifting nut (12) that are resiliently fixed each other around the lifting screw (9) by a compression mean (13).
Beverage machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the height adjustment mechanism (18) has a mounting brace (7) substantially in the shape of letter "C", that is fixed to the housing front wall (16), and in that between arms of the mounting brace (7), the lifting screw (9) with the lifting nut (12) extends, wherein the lifting nut (12) is firmly connected to the beverage discharge unit (30), and the electric motor (6) is connected to the mounting brace (7) and/or to the housing front wall (16).
Beverage machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the height adjustment mechanism (18) has a mounting brace (7) that is fixed to the beverage discharge unit (30), and supports the lifting screw (9) with the lifting nut (12) and the electric motor (6), wherein the lifting nut (12) is firmly connected to the housing front wall (16).
Beverage machine according to any claim from 1 to 3, characterized in that the lifting nut (12) is provided with a nut thread disposed in engagement, with formation of non-self-locking thread (31), with a lifting screw thread (8) of the lifting screw (9), which is lockable from gravitational force caused by weight of the beverage discharge unit (30) connected together with the discharge unit head (24).
Beverage machine according to any claim from 1 to 4, characterized in that the said halves (34) of the lifting nut (12) are connected by a hinge (19) that is disposed in the longitudinal direction on one of ends of the said halves (34), and in that the said halves (34) are compressed by the compression mean (13) as a compression wire spring.
Beverage machine according to any of the preceding claim, characterized in that the lifting screw (9) is rotated by the electric engine (6) directly or indirectly by the toothed gear (14).
Beverage machine according to any of the preceding claim, characterized in that the covering mean (3) is formed by a series of slats (4) arranged in vertical order and connected each other with longer sides by a slat hinge (5).
Beverage machine according to claim 7, characterized in that the said slats (4) are connected together by a slat hinge (5) as integrated hinge or life hinge, and in that the slat hinge (5) covers connection line (32) that is between the slats (4).
Beverage machine according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the housing front wall (16) is provided with two slat rails (2), each of them provided with a groove (1) formed substantially in the shape of inverted letter "L", that are disposed on the inner side of the housing front wall (16), wherein the said slat rails (2) extend partially vertically along both side the opening (17) and partially extending substantially horizontally inwardly of the housing.
Beverage machine according to any of the preceding claim, characterized in that the housing front wall (16) is formed as a module that comprises at least a front frame (20), an intermediate part (22), the beverage discharge unit (30), the discharge head (24), and a front panel (25), wherein the beverage discharge unit (30) is movable assembled to the front frame (20) by two guide columns (11), that are fixed to the front frame (20), and the discharge head (24) is connected to the beverage discharge unit (30) by a fixing rib (28) disposed on the discharge head (24) and by two screws (27) screwed through openings against the beverage discharge unit (30), and the intermediate part (22) and the front frame (20) are connected together by two fixing hitches (21), two protrusions (23) placed on the front frame (20) and corresponding two openings and a holder (29) placed on the intermediate part (22), and in that a front panel (25) is connected to the front frame (20) by two pins (26) that are disposed on the upper portion of the front frame (20) and corresponding two openings in the upper portion of the front panel (25) and two screws (33) that fix lower portion of the front panel (25) with lower portion of the front frame (20).